On Wednesday morning UAE time, HBO officially announced the name and details of its Game of Thrones prequel: House of the Dragon will be set 300 years earlier than its TV predecessor.
HBO is committed too: they have ordered 10 episodes of the show, rather than asking to see a pilot first.
For the past few months, the prequel that has been talked about is the Jane Goldman-led show set thousands of years before Game of Thrones. Starring Naomi Watts, a pilot had already been filmed for that show, but it has now been widely reported that the cast have been emailed to say HBO has pulled the plug, so there will be no show.
Back to House of the Dragon, which is definitely happening: it will tell the story of the House Targaryen and is based on George RR Martin's latest book Fire & Blood.
House of the Dragon, isn't being led by GOT showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss. Ryan Condal of Colony (2016-2018) fame will be the showrunner alongside British director Miguel Sapochnik, who helmed many of Game of Thrones's most notable episodes, including Battle of the Bastards.
George RR Martin himself and Ryan Condal are co-creators, while Condal will write the series.
"It's my pleasure to announce today that we are ordering House of the Dragon straight to series for HBO," said Casey Bloys, president of HBO programming. "It tells the story of House Targaryen and the early days of Westeros."
What will the show be about?
Remember, Daenerys (or Khaleesi) is a Targaryen, and so the show will be about her ancestors. The house ruled the Seven Kingdoms for many generations (with varying results) until Robert Baratheon took over and House Baratheon became the new royal house.
The book the show is inspired by covers roughly the first half of the Targaryen dynasty. The book Fire & Blood was released in November 2018, and is considered the first volume of a two volume series.
The book is presented as a 'historical document' written by Archmaester Gyldayn. It is subtitled 'A History of the Targaryen Kings from Aegon the Conqueror to Aegon III'. And that's exactly what it is: the book covers an exhaustive list of monarchs and characters. Decades can go by on a page, and so there's a lot to untangle.
This means there's also a lot of seasons of TV to be had.
We hope, and imagine, that the show won't try and run through everything the book covers in its centuries-long plot, but will instead hone in on key moments.
The book is particularly inspired by the bloody history of the British monarchy, and as the Irish Times wrote: "There are at least three chapters in here that are so packed with Machiavellian machinations, political intrigue and set-pieces that any one of them alone could be the basis for the next Westeros-based TV series."
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National photo project
Chris Whiteoak, a photographer at The National, spent months taking some of Jacqui Allan's props around the UAE, positioning them perfectly in front of some of the country's most recognisable landmarks. He placed a pirate on Kite Beach, in front of the Burj Al Arab, the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland at the Burj Khalifa, and brought one of Allan's snails (Freddie, which represents her grandfather) to the Dubai Frame. In Abu Dhabi, a dinosaur went to Al Ain's Jebel Hafeet. And a flamingo was taken all the way to the Hatta Mountains. This special project suitably brings to life the quirky nature of Allan's prop shop (and Allan herself!).
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What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
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How it works
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All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
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Stage 2 Yas Island to Abu Dhabi, 184 km, Road race
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Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
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Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
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